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Manchester City bought big but did they buy best?

Manchester City spent a total of £103.2 million on bringing new players in this summer – they bought big but did they buy the best?

What do you think?

Jesus Navas (£22.9M from Sevilla)

The 27-year-old winger is very fast and tricky but he’s not a regular starter for Spain, he is no longer an ‘up-and-coming’ prospect or rising star and is sometimes inconsistent, lacking end product. For that price range City could have bought someone like Erik Lamela or Lorenzo Insigne who are young rising stars and starters for their countries.

Fernandinho (£30M from Shakhtar Donetsk)

Again, the 28-year-old midfielder not a regular starter for Brazil, and although he was a very good player in Ukraine, for that kind of cash City could have had his younger up-and-coming equivalent Paulinho or a player already well-suited to the Premier League like Marouane Fellaini, for example.

Alvaro Negredo (£20.6M from Sevilla)

At 28 years old, the Spaniard in the prime of his playing career and certainly one of Spain’s best centre-forwards and for a very reasonable price. Negredo is a very good signing, pound for pound, and I can’t imagine they could have got any better for that price.

Stevan Jovetic (£25.8M from Fiorentina)

Formerly one of the hottest properties on the continent, certainly a rising star, there were a lot of other clubs trying to poach Jovetic this summer. He’s 23, so he’s only going to get better as he matures and adapts to England and he didn’t exactly break the bank – for a top young striker that’s very good value.

Martin Demichelis (£3.5M from Athletico Madrid)

At 32, he’s not getting any younger but for as cheap as chips I suppose you can’t complain, he’s got experience in abundance and reads the game very well and can bring calm and comfort to the dressing room. In effect, he’s basically an upgrade on Kolo Toure.

Negredo, Jovetic and Demichelis get the thumbs up from me but I feel, for the fees, Navas and Fernandinho are not anywhere near the highest level City could have afforded to bring in. Would either of them get in the team at Bayern Munich, Barcelona or Real Madrid?

I don’t think so, and that’s the level City should be aiming for, they’ve got the resources to have a squad like that and I feel like these two would be considered utility players at the top European clubs.

For a combined £52.9 million they could have bought Mesut Ozil or Neymar who are both prime examples of the quality level I’m talking about. If City want to be challenging for the Champions League title they ought to be bringing in the very best players available on the market.

Jenny Leigh

Jennifer is a freelance writer and filmmaker from London with a great passion for football - the game, the business, and the culture. Jennifer hopes to provide readership with a high standard of news, analysis, and opinion over a range of football events, stories, and issues.